Maverick Festival announces first names for 2018

February 14, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Festivals, Folk, News, Tour Dates

The Maverick Festival has announced the first names for the 2018 event set for Friday 6th - 8th July. Now in its eleventh year, the Maverick Festival has become an integral part of the Americana scene in the UK and always hosts an impressive range of artists. This year will be no different with a mix of returning favourites and many performers new to Maverick including Jonathan Byrd, Terra Lightfoot, The Danberrys, Leeroy Stagger and Arkansas Dave. More details about the event and the acts scheduled to appear follows:

Mary Chapin Carpenter announces new album and UK tour dates

February 12, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, Festivals, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

Mary Chapin Carpenter will release her new album via Thirty Tigers on March 30th. Produced by Ethan Johns the record finds the acclaimed singer-songwriter reinterpreting a track from each of her previous twelve albums. The album 'Sometimes Just The Sky' is titled after the one newly written song on the record. To support the release Carpenter will embark on a UK tour in May with special guest Emily Barker on the majority of the dates. Full details about the album and those tour dates follow:

Lindsay Ell's The Project to get UK Physical Release 9th March

February 09, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, News, Tour Dates, Video

Lindsay Ell will be returning to the UK in March at the C2C Festival at London's O2 and as a part of the C2C Roadshow. To coincide with the dates her critically acclaimed debut album 'The Project' will receive a very welcome UK physical release on March 9th via BMG/BBR. If you were lucky enough to see Lindsay on her UK visit back in October (review) then you won't need me to tell you she's pretty great live. If you're new to Lindsay Ell then more about the lady, the project and those dates follow:

Johnny Cash: Forever Words due April 6th on CD, 2LP and Digital.

February 08, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, News

One of my earliest musical memories is of my dad playing 'Live At San Quentin' when I was a child. Johnny Cash and his music would play an important part in my musical education and eventually the launch of Red Guitar Music, so anything Johnny Cash related always makes me sit up and take notice. Johnny Cash: Forever Words is a collection of songs, performed by artists of the stature of Elvis Costello, Alison Krauss, John Mellencamp, Brad Paisley and the late Chris Cornell, constructed from the poems, lyrics and letters of Johnny Cash. One look at the video trailer for the album and you feel this project is in very safe hands. I can't wait to hear these songs when the album is released on April 6th via Legacy Recordings. More about the album including the track listing and the preview trailer follows:

Megan O'Neill releases video for 'Ghost Of You' single + London show

February 03, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, New Single, News, singer-songwriter, Video

London based singer-songwriter Megan O'Neill has released a video for her recent single 'Ghost Of You' which does a great job of capturing the essence of the song. Megan and her band will be appearing at the regular Nashville Nights event at Under The Bridge in London on March 10th. In the meantime more about Megan, the video for 'Ghost Of You' and her thoughts on the song/video follows:

Brothers Osborne to release 'Port Saint Joe' April 20th before UK dates

February 02, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, News, Tour Dates, Video

Brothers Osborne will release their eagerly anticipated new album 'Port Saint Joe' on April 20th via Snakefarm Records. The record is expected to build on the success of their 'Pawn Shop' debut album which has now been certified as a Gold record in the USA. The new album is again produced by Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Little Big Town) and includes their latest 'Shoot Me Straight' single. Following the album release the duo will return to the UK / ROI for a run of dates including an already Sold Out London show at KOKO. Those tour dates, more about Brothers Osborne and the video for 'Shoot Me Straight' follows:

Missed some great music in January? Check out the RGM Spotify playlist.

January 31, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, Folk, News, Showcase, singer-songwriter, Playlist

January was a busy month at RGM with loads of news, new albums and tours announced. If you've missed anything, or just have a hunger to check out some new music, why not take a listen to our first Spotify Playlist that showcases artists featured during the month.

Corey Nolen will release 'Not All Roses' on February 3rd 2018

January 30, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, News, singer-songwriter

The latest release from Birmingham, Alabama singer-songwriter Corey Nolen 'Not All Roses' is his fifth in five years. The prolific Nolen has enlisted the help of vocalist Ashley Spurling this time around, and the result is an album of harmony-driven country music with just a dash of pop. One listen to 'My Love' from the record and you'd have to have a heart of stone to not enjoy the smooth harmonies or appreciate the honesty on display here. We caught up with Corey Nolen for a quick chat about 'Doing Alright' the first track released from the album:

Ramblin' Roots Revue returns to High Wycombe April 6th-8th

January 29, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Festivals, Folk, News, Roots, Tour Dates, Alt-Country

After a successful first event last year, the Ramblin' Roots Revue will return to Bucks Student Union in High Wycombe for three days of Americana, folk, country and roots music in 2018. The event is produced in association with respected UK Americana label Clubhouse Records and they're put together an impressive range of acts including The Magic Numbers, The Rails, Danny and the Champions of the World, Jess Klein, Robert Vincent and Bennett Wilson Poole (whose upcoming album has gone down well in the RGM office). All the info you'll need about the festival follows:

What to expect at C2C 2018

January 29, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Festivals, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

With the annual C2C festival just a few days away this seems like a good time to take a look at all things Country 2 Country at O2 from March 9th - 11th 2018. The press release follows with all the info on the various stages and the many performers appearing over the weekend including the CMA Songwriters Series (On the 8th March) and the BBC Radio 2 Stage:

O&O return with new 'Some Days' single January 26th

January 26, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, New Single, News, singer-songwriter

The multi-national duo of Obadiah Jones and Orian Peled are looking to build on the success of their debut single 'Traveling' from last year with an new single 'Some Days' set for release January 26th. Now based in London, 2018 is looking like a big year for the duo and their harmony-driven sound, which is sure to appeal to fans of The Black Feathers, Lewis & Leigh and The Wandering Hearts, More about the long road O&O have taken to get to 'Some Days' follows:

Tom Waits reissues continue with entire 1970s Elektra Asylum catalogue via Anti- in 2018

January 23, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Blues, News, singer-songwriter, Vinyl

In October of 2017 RGM bought you news of remastered reissues of Tom Waits' Anti- Records label albums here. Now the label will continue the reissue campaign with remastered reissues of his complete 1970's Elektra Asylum catalogue commencing March 9th with his debut 'Closing Time' on CD, LP and Digital. Six more albums will also be released digitally on that day. CD reissues of the remaining six albums are set for March 23rd with vinyl reissues to follow throughout 2018. The press release with a full rundown of the albums included in the campaign follows:

The Grahams announce limited tour only Pretenders/Mazzy Star covers 7" single

January 20, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Festivals, New Single, News, Soundtrack, Tour Dates

Nashville based Americana duo The Grahams will return to the UK in February/March for an almost month long run of dates. The dates will include two shows at the C2C / Country 2 Country festival at the O2 in London on March 9th-10th. To coincide the duo will release a strictly limited 7" single, only available during the tour, which features their versions of tracks by The Pretenders and Mazzy Star (both tracks are great but the Mazzy Star is especially good). The tracks will feature on the upcoming soundtrack to their feature length Love & Distortion documentary due later this year. More about The Grahams, the tour dates and a link to check out the single follows:

'All Roads East' for Eli Lev on new EP

January 12, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, Folk, News, singer-songwriter, Soundcloud

Washington DC native Eli Lev recently released his debut EP 'All Roads East' with his band The Fortunes Found. Eli at first glance falls into the indie folk singer-songwriter category but give the EP a listen and you'll find a healthy disrespect for musical boundaries. The 5 track EP (now available from all official digital platforms) embraces folk, country with a dash of old-school rock n' roll to keep you on your toes. The first single from the EP 'Go Down' benefits from an unexpectedly cool funky groove while 'Long Way Back To Shonto' is bathed in bluesy slide guitar. If you're lucky enough to live in the Washington DC/Maryland/Virginia area Eli Lev is probably playing somewhere near you as I type. If not then more about Eli including the video for 'Go Down' follows:

Jerry Leger embraces 'Nonsense and Heartache' on new 2LP set

January 09, 2018 by David Vousden in News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates, Video, Americana

Canadian singer-songwriter Jerry Leger will see his latest album 'Nonsense And Heartache' released in the UK on March 2nd via Latent Recordings with distribution through Proper Music. The album is a double set with an album of bluesy, dirty rock n' roll and a more acoustic-based singer-songwriter record. The album was produced by Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies fame. Jerry Leger and his band The Situation will visit Europe in April for a run of shows that include UK dates. More about the album and the tour follows:

The famed Bluebird Cafe returns to C2C in 2018 + After Show Party News

December 12, 2017 by David Vousden in Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Festivals, News, Tour Dates

The famed Bluebird Cafe will return to the C2C event at the O2 in 2018. The Nashville institution has experienced an increase in visibility and popularity in recent years as an integral part of the Nashville TV show so expect tickets to be in high demand. Nashville is all about the songwriter so these seated songwriters round shows really get to the roots of the music. The O2 / C2C have also released details of the official Aftershow Parties for 2018 with Walker Hayes, Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real, Brett Young with Morgan Evans set to please the late night music lovers (Glasgow will also have aftershow parties for our friends north of the border). More details follow:

Mary Gauthier, Seamus Fogarty & The Blasters latest names added to Kilkenny Roots 2018

December 05, 2017 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Blues, Country, Festivals, News, Roots

The Kilkenny Roots Festival is celebrating 21 years in 2018 and the latest additions to the line-up include Mary Gauthier, who has an excellent new album 'Rifles & Rosary Beads' due in January, Irish songwriter Seamus Fogarty and, from the USA, The Blasters. With RGM fave Whitney Rose already announced alongside a host of impressive names that include Deep Dark Woods, Michael Nau and Nikki Lane this looks like an excellent weekend of great music. More about the festival and the artists set to appear follows:

Nearly New Year with Nashville Nights and The Southern Companion

November 28, 2017 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, News, Club Nights

Nashville Nights will return to West London to give fans an opportunity to see in 2018 with a Nearly New Year Party devoted to country music. The event takes place at Under The Bridge on December 29th and will feature live music from The Southern Companion. Full details about Nashville Nights and the evening follow:

Belle Adair look to redefine Muscle Shoals with 'Tuscumbia' on Jan 19th

November 14, 2017 by David Vousden in Americana, New Single, News, Soundcloud, Pop, Soul

The members of Belle Adair will need no introduction if you've been following the impressive run of releases on Single Lock Records as keyboardist Ben Tanner and drummer Reed Watson run the label. The band has effectively acted as the label house band in recent years backing label founder John Paul White and Donnie Fritts amongst others. Now Belle Adair are taking their place in the sun with the release of the Tom Schick (Wilco) produced 'Tuscumbia' which puts their personal spin on that rich Muscle Shoals musical heritage. More about Belle Adair follows including 'Get Away' the first single from the album:

Tom Waits to release remastered Anti- albums commencing November 10th

October 26, 2017 by David Vousden in Americana, Blues, Jazz, News, singer-songwriter

Tom Waits has remastered his Anti- catalogue and the reissue of the albums will commence on November 10th. Waits has referred to the process as “Necessary but cursedly laborious” but I'm sure fans will be keen to check out the new remasters which will include a completely new mix for the 'Real Gone' album. More details about the upcoming albums including release dates follows: